THE CREATOR

Colombian-born Ricardo Ballen is the founder and creator of the high-end and luxuriously sober Ballen Pellettiere brand. At a young age, he has boldly ventured into fabricating a distinctive vision that welds the meaning of luxury and craftsmanship in the local Colombian fashion market. His creations accurately reflect the actual signification of luxury within an emerging fashion culture: the encounter between a global style language and local artistry.

Having had no direct contact with fashion as he was growing up, Ballen, who spent his childhood years in a country villa that allowed him a free-spirited contact with nature and horses, went to pursue a career in Product Design in Milan’s Istituto Europeo di Design. The combination between his academic background and fondness for horseback riding lead him to convert his innate tastefulness, discerning elegance, and passion for equestrian culture into a design language that is both rustic and edgy in a unique manner.

Combining his practical and business orientation with his precociously artistic inclinations and aesthetic sensibility, Ballen decided to take a short course in Leather Goods and Patter Making in the Milanese academy Ars Sutoria after graduating from IED. This experience sparked his genuine vocation for elegant craftmanship. Following his performance as creative director of finished products for one of Colombia’s major textile companies, he invented Ballen Pellettiere, a vision that blends practicality, sophisticated aesthetics and country influences.